Hitachi to build new fleet of trains modelled on Japanese 'Bullet' in Britain after £1.2bn deal

A new fleet of trains modelled on the Japanese ‘Bullet’ will be built in Britain after a £1.2bn deal.

British manufacturing was given a boost after the Government announced plans to buy new trains for the East Coast Mainline.

Hitachi will build 270 train carriages at its new plant at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham – with all of the parts and interiors manufactured around the country.

It is part of a £5.8bn deal signed by ministers with the Japanese company to provide new trains over the next 27 years.

Rather than the ageing Intercity 225 trains, the Japanese company will use its faster trains – modelled on the ‘Bullet’ trains – which it claims will shave minutes off travelling time. It is claimed the new Class 800 trains will cut the journey time between London and Edinburgh by 18 minutes to four hours and five minutes.

The new trains, which come into service in 2019, will also increase capacity on the busy line by 18 per cent.

Alistair Dormer, head of Hitachi Rail Europe, said: ‘This represents a welcome boost for Hitachi and its train factory in County Durham with its 730 future employees. We have already signed contracts with a significant number of suppliers in the UK are in negotiations with many more, providing jobs throughout the UK engineering supply chain.’

Last year, the Government agreed an initial order for 596 carriages with Agility Trains, a consortium of Hitachi and British project manager John Laing.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: ‘This will not only deliver significant benefits to passengers by slashing journey times and bolstering capacity, but will stimulate economic growth through improved connectivity in some of Britain’s biggest cities.’